Archive for the ‘Easel’ Category

Freeze paint in ice cube trays or in popsicle trays. Bring them out on a sunny day; they work better as they melt. Although I started with paint popsicles, in the end my artist decided he liked holding the ice in his hand better.

This activity is similar to any wax resist activity. For this particular activity the canvass was painted with crisco. Then water color (water + food coloring) was sprayed over the canvass. The colored water was absorbed by the paper, but resisted by the crisco. Finally, the canvass and excess crisco was wiped down with a paper towel. The is art and science all rolled into one process.

Add to the sensory experience of painting by adding scents. Use baking extracts, or rinds from strong smelling fruits such as lemons or limes. Although rinds and extract will have a stronger smell, you can also use juice.

Some children will spend a lot of time painting one piece; most will finish in a matter of minutes if not seconds. This leads to a massive amount of artwork. Throwing out (after spending a required amount of time on your walls, of course) may seem wasteful. So, what can you do with all of it? Here is a short list:

Use it as gift wrap and as cards (see photo)

Hand-off to unsuspecting relatives

Turn it around and use the back for more easel work

Cut it into small shapes and use it for collages

Dip cookie cutters into black paint and stamp on top of it to make a new masterpiece

Frame it. Seriously at least ½ of the framed art in my house was created by my kids. It looks great, I get compliments all of the time.

Be green right from the beginning and have your children paint on something you were going to throw out anyway (newspaper, large pieces of card bard, gift wrap.)

What have you done with artwork, besides hanging it on your walls and throwing it away?

Adding anything to paint makes the process unique for toddlers. In this case I added glitter to orange paint. Other additions include sugar, salt, sand, dried flowers, and pollen (just kidding.) The only limit to what you can add to paint is your imagination.

Ok…ok…I tried to make this activity sound a little more exciting by translating the title into Spanish. Even if you’re not bilingual, you could probably figure out that this activity involves chalk and water. Why dip chalk in water?

Have your child draw on a coffee filter with markers. Then have him/her spray the filter paper. Alternately, if it was a rainy day, you could place the filter paper in the rain for a moment. You can also use regular construction paper, and even the easel paper for the activity, with varying results.